Automotive vehicles are typically equipped with a door latch in each door. The latch engages a striker shaft that is secured to a vehicle door jamb pillar. The latch, particularly one for a swinging door, has a fishmouth slot that opens toward the vehicle interior and extends through a cutout in the face plate of the latch. This fishmouth slot guides the striker shaft into the interior of the door latch as the vehicle door is closed.
As the striker shaft travels into the fishmouth slot, it “strikes” or engages an internal, pivotally mounted fork bolt lever that is part of a latching mechanism. The striker shaft then rotates the fork bolt lever to a latched position where a portion of the fork bolt lever wraps around the striker shaft and closes off the fishmouth slot. The fork bolt lever is typically held in the latched position by a detent lever or pawl that is released by a door handle when the door is opened.